A Holiday Hero: Constance McMillen

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In the run up to the holidays, the blogging team at Care2 will be picking their Holiday Heroes: otherwise normal individuals who have done remarkable things. My first selection is Mississippi teen Constance McMillen whose court victory against a prejudiced school board this year has meant that her former school now has an LGBT inclusive non-discrimination policy.The Constance McMillen StoryFrom the ACLU press release about the case:ABERDEEN, MS – Itawamba County School District officials agreed to have a judgment entered against them in the case of a recent high school graduate who sued her school for canceling the prom rather than let her attend with her girlfriend. The agreement ends a precedent-setting lawsuit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of 18-year-old Constance McMillen, who suffered humiliation and harassment after parents, students and school officials executed a cruel plan to put on a “decoy” prom for her while the rest of her classmates were at a private prom 30 miles away.

“I’m so glad this is all over. I won’t ever get my prom back, but it’s worth it if it changes things at my school,” said McMillen, who was harassed so badly by students blaming her for the prom cancellation that she had to transfer to another high school to finish her senior year. “I hope this means that in the future students at my school will be treated fairly. I know there are students and teachers who want to start a gay-straight alliance club, and they should be able to do that without being treated like I was by the school.”

As set forth in documents filed in court today, school officials agreed to implement a policy banning discrimination or harassment on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity, the first policy to do so at a public school in the state of Mississippi. The school also agreed to pay McMillen $35,000 in damages and pay for McMillen’s attorneys’ fees.

“Constance went through a great deal of harassment and humiliation simply for standing up for her rights, and she should be proud of what she has accomplished,” said Christine P. Sun, senior counsel with the ACLU Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Project. “Thanks to her bravery, we now not only have a federal court precedent that can be used to protect the rights of students all over the country to bring the date they want to their proms, but we also have the first school anti-discrimination policy of its kind in Mississippi.”

In addition to today’s legal judgment against the school, an earlier ruling in the case set an important precedent that will help prevent other students from suffering the kind of discrimination McMillen experienced. In March, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi issued a ruling in McMillen’s case that school officials violated McMillen’s First Amendment rights when it canceled the high school prom rather than let McMillen attend with her girlfriend and wear a tuxedo.

“We’re pleased that the school district agreed to be held liable for violating Constance’s rights. Now Constance can move on with her life and Itawamba school officials can show the world that they have learned a lesson about equal treatment for all students,” said Kristy L. Bennett, co-counsel on McMillen’s case. “This has been about much more than just the prom all along – it’s about all of our young people deserving to be treated fairly by the schools we trust to take care of them.”

After IAHS’s original prom date was canceled by school officials in response to McMillen’s request that she be allowed to bring her girlfriend and wear a tuxedo, parents organized a private prom at which district officials told a federal judge McMillen and her date would be welcome. That private prom was then canceled as well, allegedly because parents did not want to allow McMillen to attend, instead organizing a “decoy” prom for McMillen and her date and another prom for the rest of the class. McMillen and her date then attended the event the school had told her was “the prom for juniors and seniors” on April 2, where they found only seven other students attending. Principal Trae Wiygul and several school staff members were supervising that event while most of McMillen’s classmates were at the other prom in Evergreen, Mississippi.

“We hope this judgment sends a message to schools that they cannot get away with discriminating against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender students. LGBT youth just want to be treated like their peers and do all the normal high school things, like going to the prom with the date they choose,” said Bear Atwood, Interim Legal Director at the ACLU of Mississippi. “We’re very proud of Constance for standing up not just for her rights but the rights of LGBT students everywhere.”

McMillen is represented by Sun, Bennett and Atwood, as well as by Norman C. Simon, Joshua Glick and Jason Moff of Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP, and Alysson Mills of New Orleans.

The case name is Constance McMillen v. Itawamba County School District, et al. Additional information is available at www.aclu.org/lgbt-rights/fulton-ms-prom-discrimination.Constance McMillen Says Thank YouAs a result of her bravery, Constance McMillen gained national attention and was rewarded with several accolades, including a university scholarship. She was also given the privilege of being this year’s Grand Marshall of New York Gay Pride. Yet, throughout the court case and all the media attention, McMillen has remained both humble and thankful for the support she has received.

After the ACLU took on her struggle, McMillen took the time to record a brief YouTube video to thank all of her supporters.

Here it is:

Most recently, Glamour awarded McMillen their Woman of the Year 2010 title. In the article “The Accidental Activist” McMillen talks about her court battle, her family, and how life has changed for her. You can read the Glamour article here.

Constance McMillen Supports the Student Non-Discrimination Act

Finally, here is Constance McMillen talking about a piece of legislation called the Student Non-Discrimination Act and asking for your support so that other students don’t have to go through what she had to just to be treated fairly:

I remember reading this story on Care2 when it first came out, I am still shocked that school officials would help put together something so disgusting.

Constance is so brave, and she's accomplished a great amount. I hope this gives courage to all the teens suffering in schools right now and I hope that enough people get behind this to get it passed. I've gotten too many emails about teens committing suicide for being traumatized for being who they are. Hooray, Constance!

Constance McMillen is certainly my major heroine of 2010: instead of staying stuck in the misery she was subjected to she stood up and fought back in the most brilliant and productive way - she helped to bring out real, meaningful change through a civil-rights legal struggle. She is a truly brilliant, compelling and articulate spokesperson for LGBT youth and their rights to a decent life. Myself, speaking as an out bi activist and a senior, I wish I'd had a friend like Constance back years ago when I was also a brilliant but very lonely & alienated high school student, back in the days when homophobia was the law of the land without exception, here in the USA.

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Steve Williams is a passionate supporter of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Trans (LGBT) rights, human rights, animal welfare and health care reform. He is a published novelist, poet and citizen journalist, and a scriptwriter for computer games, film and web serials. less